Adrienne Farrelly is one of Shanghai’s most experienced expatriate Property Agents helping expats find new homes since 1994. You can reach her at +86 13122 810 421 or manager@shanghaiprops.com. Connect with her on Skype at shanghaiproperties8. Shanghai Properties

Finding your favorite western food ingredients in Shanghai can be a challenge and only certain markets may have them. Some of the large supermarkets such as Carrefour have basic international goods while others such as Metro and City super have an extensive line of international foodstuffs. To help you find your local supermarket we’ve made a full list of international supermarkets in Shanghai. So, check out your local market for some great gourmet cooking ingredients and bon appetit to one and all.

Adrienne Farrelly is one of Shanghai’s most experienced expatriate Property Agents helping expats find new homes since 1994. You can reach her at +86 13122 810 421 or manager@shanghaiprops.com. Connect with her on Skype at shanghaiproperties8. Shanghai Properties

Living in another country is an interesting and rewarding experience for sure but it does have its drawbacks when you don’t speak the language. People often ask how life is in China without being able to speak Chinese and the answer for most is that it’s challenging and frustrating, especially if you don’t have a full time translator. Luckily nowadays there is plenty of help around to make communication a little easier throughout your day. I’d like to share with you some tips, apps, and books that I hope will help you live your life in China with a little more ease
Tips
1. Using your smart phone correctly can make your life far easier. There are a bunch of great apps available that can help with daily living. Taking pictures can be really helpful. You just ran out of medicine? Take a picture of the box and go to the pharmacy. Doing this can save the stress of having to act out your illness every time when buying medicine. This could be embarrassing with some conditions. You can also have a friend, text you important addresses in Chinese and English. Afterwards just save these text messages and showed them to a taxi driver whenever you need to go there. If your Phone has internet connection you can have people directly type in google translate to try to figure out what their meaning is.
2. Find a Chinese friend that can speak English. When looking at this you may think this task would be hard, trying to find an English speaker Chinese person. However if you use an app such as Wechat, and post online that you are looking for a friend, you are bound to get some replies. In China the majority of the younger generation wants to learn English. They will jump at any opportunities to practice their English with a native Speaker. You will often see many foreigners walking down the street with a Chinese person on their left or right speaking English. Were they friends before China? Very unlikely, is it true friendship? Who can say, but the most important thing is that is a mutual benefiting agreement, where one party answers questions about Chinese culture and translate while the other party improves there spoken English.
3. Making friends with other expatriates in China can also be beneficial. Since they may have been in China for a longer period of time. They may be able to answer questions since they have gone through the same experience. If they are able to speak some Chinese, they may be able to help you when you are lost and all else fails.
4. Have an Electronic Phrase book or a hard copy, this way you can practice your Chinese (if you want) and ask any questions when they arise. When I first came to China, this was an essential part of everyday life.
5. Learn how to read peoples gestures, often when giving directions to a foreigner. You will notice big bold hand moments illustrating the way to your destination. Even if you cannot understand their Chinese or English, you may be able to understand their hands.
6. Get English Speaking Ayi. It may be worth the extra money to get an ayi that can speak English. Then you have someone you can also call that should be readily available to answer any questions you may have. Instead of paying 10 RMB per hour for a non English speaking you can invest around 30RMB per hour for an English speaking one.

Ayi Survival Guide
Everything you want to know about hiring, communicating, and training your ayi can be found in this book. If you choose a non English Speaking Ayi this book has conversations that are both in Chinese and English so you are able to just point at the sentence to show your Ayi.http://www.ayisurvivalguide.com/

TaxiCardhttp://www.traveltaxicards.com/shanghai.html
These taxi cards have addresses of common places in Shanghai that you can show your taxi driver. Almost no taxi drivers are able to speak English and very few understand Pinyin so having addresses in Chinese characters is essential.

Apps
WeChat- This app allows you to check nearby people in the area which makes it perfect for finding an English speaking friend. This app is widely used in China so don’t be surprised if a Chinese asks if you if you have a wechat account.
Explore Shanghai – This app is perfect for anyone needing to navigate through the metro system. The app will give you an estimated time from one stop to another and the best possible route. It also has maps of the station exits.
Pleco- This is probably the best dictionary out there for cell phones. It includes many features such as character recognition by taking a picture, and the ability to use your finger to write characters.
Cityweekend- Cityweekend has created an amazing app that tells you some of the greatest venues in the city.

Helpful Chinese sites
Dianping – When trying to find the best deals in the city, this is the app for you. It is equivalent to Groupon on a larger scale. This app also allows you to look at reviews of restaurants, hotels, and spas. The only downfall is it’s all in Chinese.
Taobao – Taobao is China’s biggest online shopping website. Anything can be found here. If you are wanting to do any online shopping this is a must visit this website. The Chinese version has unbelievable deals; there are also English agents that have their own sites of Taobao that have slightly higher costs.

Adrienne Farrelly is one of Shanghai’s most experienced expatriate Property Agents helping expats find new homes since 1994. You can reach her at +86 13122 810 421 or manager@shanghaiprops.com. Connect with her on Skype at shanghaiproperties8. Shanghai Properties

When planning to relocate to Shanghai, there are many differences to take into consideration. One of these is real estate agents in Shanghai. Here is some insight into the expatriate real estate industry. I hope it is helpful!

Licenses

To work in the real estate industry in developed nations one needs a certified real estate license from their authorities. On top of this they need a portfolio of good properties and exceptional service to keep savvy clients satisfied. With many online review platforms available they can’t afford to be complacent. China’s real estate industry is in its infancy and started a mere 25 years ago, so regulation of the market is limited. Agents showing properties to expatriates are usually employed for their English or other second language skills and rarely have a license. Many agents grew up in disadvantaged areas, have sub standard education and a limited cultural understanding of their clients. Despite their lack of education, experience and full grasp of client’s needs and requirements they are willing to work the very long hours required of an agent and are a cheap form of labour.

Commissions

In countries such as the U.S. the real estate agent generally collects one month rent as commission and they have many laws set in place to make malpractice difficult. Real estate agents in Shanghai can collect from 35% of one month to one month rent as commission. Given many new arrivals are not fully aware of the property market and demographics of the city they can easily be shown properties not based on their criteria and be tricked into committing to an unsuitable premise or location. The goal of the agent is often to impress their boss on the high commission obtained for the company and themselves, thus securing a good annual bonus, as opposed to providing customer satisfaction which can be a secondary goal. Since the GFC of 2008, there are less expatriates with high end packages so expatriate real estate companies are more and more focused on their bottom line.

Properties and Areas

Properties in Western countries and Shanghai differ greatly in terms of style, quality and rental prices. Districts and surrounding can be radically different as Shanghai is a huge ever developing city with a large variety of housing options. Newer housing options which are generally on the perimeter or outskirts of the city often have central heating/cooling however older options have wall mounted units. Another concern of newly arrived expats is that some of the properties do not have clothes dryers as locals use the sun to dry their clothes. Because of this the direction the house faces is extremely important and south facing living areas are the best although a little more expensive.

Some properties in Shanghai are in a more “Chinese area” where you will see (and smell) a lot of local delicacies such as fish heads in a bucket or ducks hanging from hooks. When choosing housing in Shanghai, the area should also be a major consideration as the convenience of supermarkets with western foodstuffs, are limited.

Cultural differences also play a large role in choosing housing. Some expatriates do not like to live in areas that are overly Chinese where you may often hear fire crackers and smell burnt offerings to deceased relatives on the ground outside your apartment block. People come to China for different reasons so make sure you tell your agent what type of area you are looking for.

Agents

Agents in China don’t see much of an issue in telling untruths about properties, leasing agreements and other information. Since there are little regulations and they know that foreigners are unlikely to report the incident they usually get away with it without any repercussions. Unlike more developed countries there are no strict rules in place and if they do not have a real estate license there is no fear that their real estate license will be stripped away. Many western real estate companies believe that word of mouth and good reviews are better for the long run, however many Chinese real estate agents merely look at immediate profits and are more likely to try to convince you to choose an unsuitable home for the sake of a larger commission.

Because of the unreliable real estate industry in Shanghai and throughout China it is highly recommended that new arrivals use an experienced expatriate real estate agent with reputable recommendations. For the best advice on real estate for expatriates choose Shanghai Properties and never regret! A home which you and your family will love awaits you. Click here to visit our recent property listings or drop in a line if you are looking for some free housing advice contact us at manager@shanghaiprops.com. Shanghai Properties is a real estate agency that has many years experience, is Western managed and has customer focused agents.

Adrienne Farrelly is one of Shanghai’s most experienced expatriate Property Agents helping expats find new homes since 1994. You can reach her at +86 13122 810 421 or manager@shanghaiprops.com. Connect with her on Skype at shanghaiproperties8. Shanghai Properties

Being the first week of April we find ourselves celebrating Qing Ming (Tomb Sweeping Day) which is when Chinese travel to the family tomb to sweep, clean and place flowers or other memorials on the grave site. The day is spent commemorating the dead as well as celebrating the oncoming spring. Qing Ming Jie literally “clear bright holiday”. This Year the holiday lands on April 4th.

Since hundreds of thousand people jump into their cars or rent buses and take to the road, the day is notorious for horrible traffic. Roads are full from dawn til dusk so you may want to do your grocery shopping early.

Qing Ming is super important to Chinese as they traditionally believe their ancestor’s spirits look after the family. Many traditional Chinese families have an altar at home where ancestor’s photos are placed and offerings such as food, flowers and incense are given to keep them well fed and happy.

The tradition of Qing Ming began in the Tang Dynasty (618–907 AD) however ancestor worship has been a long ongoing tradition in China.

Traditional Tomb Sweeping Day activities:

Day of mourning for deceased ancestors

Make traditional offerings to ancestors of food, flowers

Fly kites

No cooking is done, only cold dishes are served

Take a walk in the countryside to enjoy spring

Sweep, clean and decorate the tomb

What Is the Origin of Qing Ming?

Qing Ming is based on the Hanshi Festival (Cold Festival) which has gradually been absorbed into the Tomb Sweeping Day festivities.

The Festival commemorated Jie Zitui, a loyal court official from the Eastern Zhou Dynasty who was a loyal minister to Prince Chong Er. During a civil war, both had to flee their city and were exiled for 19-years. According to legend, Jie was so loyal during their exile he cut out pieces of his leg to feed the Prince when they were short of food. When Chong Er returned to the city and became king he rewarded all who had helped him during his exile but forgot about Jie.

Jie’s friends advised him to remind Chong Er he should also be repaid for his loyalty but he ignored their advice and moved to the mountain side. When Chong Er learned of this he went to the mountain side to look for Jie but was unable to find him so he set fire to the forest to force Jie out. After the fire had extinguished they went to the mountain side and found the bodies of Jie and his mother next to a willow tree.

To commemorate Jie’s death, Chong Er created the Hanshi Festival where no fires can be lit on that day. One year later, Chong Er went back to the willow tree to hold a memorial ceremony for Jie. When he arrived he had found the willow tree in bloom again. The Hanshi Festival became known as the ‘Pure Brightness Festival.

How is Tomb Sweeping Day Celebrated?

Tomb Sweeping Day is celebrated by families reuniting and traveling to their ancestors’ grave sites to pay their respects and clean their tombstone by sweeping it and removing weeds, adding new earth and placing willow branches atop. Paper Money that resembles ancient currency is folded weeks ahead of time and the money is burned as gifts for their ancestor. While the money burns the family members show their respects by bowing.

Fresh flowers may also be placed at the tomb but in ancient times five-colored paper was placed underneath a stone to signify that someone had visited the grave.

With hectic work schedules, some families choose to make the trip earlier or later in April. Some families opt to have a few families’ members to make the trip on behalf of the whole family.

Adrienne Farrelly is one of Shanghai’s most experienced expatriate Property Agents helping expats find new homes since 1994. You can reach her at +86 13122 810 421 or manager@shanghaiprops.com. Connect with her on Skype at shanghaiproperties8. Shanghai Properties

The Pudong District (East Bank) is a huge district located on the east side of Shanghai’s Huangpu River. Due to its size and importance as the financial hub of China it has equal status of a sub-provincial city. Pudong is divided into a number of sub-districts, towns and zones that have been established for different trade reasons. Within these zones there are a high number of expat workers who have demands for expat housing, international schools, international supermarket and entertainment. You can find pockets of expat communities located in Lujiazui Trade and Finance Zone, Liao Yang (Century Park), Kang Qiao Industrial Zone, Waigaoqiao Free Trade Zone, Zhang Jiang High Tech Park and Jin Qiao Export Processing Zone.

Lujiazui Finance & Trade Zone

This area in Pudong boasts some of Shanghai’s best tourist locations such as: the Oriental Pearl Tower, and the 101 story World Financial Center. Other attractions include Shanghai History Museum, Shanghai Wild Insects Museum, Art Expo Gallery, Jinmao Tower, and Riverside Avenue. This area is close to the City center, and has easy access to bars and other fun activities. This location is better suited for singles and young couples. Lujiazui contains some of Shanghai best’s shopping centers. Super Brand Mall is one of Asia biggest malls with 13stories and spans 250,000 square meters in area. It is just a few minutes’ walk away from Lujiazui metro stop. The mall contains many international brands and boasts aLujiazuiive food court and restaurants.

IFC mall is also located right at lujiazui metro station but is smaller than its Super Brand Counterpart, but still boasts 4 floors with some of the top luxury brands such as Coach, Gucci, and Prada. Anyone looking to buy fashionable clothes should explore this mall.

Pros:
◦This area contains some of the best shopping in Shanghai
◦It is located near the city center and is very convenient
◦A lot of bars and restaurants in this area
◦From this location it is easy to travel to Puxi for events

Cons:
◦This area of Shanghai is a congested commercial area with far less green than other options
◦International schools are a fair distance away
◦No villas available

The Liao Yang area is centered on Century Park which is Shanghai’s largest park spanning a huge 345 acres. After entering you’re bound to forget you are located in one of the world’s largest cities. The park has a 10rmb entrance fee and contains large green areas for walking and bike trails, bike rentals, a small entertainment park with roller coasters and a lake with boat rides. Century Park was designed by British architects and as a result the park shows an interesting combination of eastern and western architecture. There are some great housing choices for expats near Liao Yang (Century Park)

Pros:
◦Shanghai’s largest park is located in this area.
◦This location has some nice expat housing while still close to the center of the city.
◦Choices for international supermarkets and restaurants.

Cons:
◦There are not many international schools located in this area.
◦There aren’t as many options for shopping and restaurants as Lujiazui.

This area is in south Pudong and is relatively rural with pockets of expat compounds dotted throughout and two international school campuses, SCIS and BISS. There are a few international supermarkets located in the area and a medium sized Shopping Plaza named Wanda Plaza.

Pros:
◦A large expat community in a few villa compounds
◦Two international schools to choose from
◦Large open spaces
◦Cons
◦Kangqiao is far from the city center
◦This area is more suited for families and would not suit singles or couples

Many expats choose to live in this area of Pudong because it is the most western and contains some of Shanghai’s best villas and high end apartments. There are three international schools located in Jinqiao (Concordia/Dulwich/Yew Cheung). This area is also located near Pudong airport which is an extra benefit to many who choose to live here. With the large amount of expats living there you will find a large Carrefour, Green City Shopping Centre with its international stores as well as many restaurants with multi cultural cuisines and bars with English speaking staff.

Pros:
◦Located near Pudong Airport
◦A Disney Park is being built in the area
◦Great international compounds and community
◦Three well established International Schools

Cons:
◦The location is far from the City Center
◦The area is more family oriented, and can be a little boring for singles and couples.

Schools: Concordia International School/Dulwich College/Yew Cheung

Waigaoqiao Free Trade Zone

This area of Pudong is a Free trade zone and is a testing ground for a number of economic reforms. An example of this is that video game consoles banned elsewhere in China sold in this area. This area of Shanghai allows for unlimited currency exchange, along with providing businesses 10 years of tax free for operation.

Pros:
◦No restrictions for currency exchange.
◦There are incentives for new businesses here.
◦The area is developing fast

Cons:
◦Located north of Pudong airport
◦Very far from the City Center
◦Mostly industrial area with large MNC companies
◦Limited shopping areas, restaurants and bars.

This area was created for the development of high and new technology and is an important area in the Pudong New Area Development Program. There are already a large number of international and domestic enterprises located there and a small expat community in villa and apartment compounds. Closest international area is Jinqiao which is 20 mins drive away.

Pros:
◦Less congestion, high rises and population density
◦More open space and peaceful surrounds
◦More quiet and affordable than Puxi
◦Less traffic and good access to subway system
◦Large supermarkets such as Carrefour and Metro

Cons:
◦Travel distances to everywhere are quite lengthy
◦Tunnel and bridge crossings to Puxi can be a nightmare in peak hour traffic
◦Not so convenient to attend bars, restaurants and functions in Puxi
◦Limited shopping areas, selection of bars and restaurants.

Adrienne Farrelly is one of Shanghai’s most experienced expatriate Property Agents helping expats find new homes since 1994. You can reach her at +86 13122 810 421 or manager@shanghaiprops.com. Connect with her on Skype at shanghaiproperties8. Shanghai Properties

You know what it’s like. Stay in one Chinese city too long and you start to get the “travel bug”. China, like elsewhere in the world has websites that give you the best deals. So, if you’re looking to come to China, Cheapoair.com is the best way to find a flight to Beijing or Shanghai. Traveling to or within China and haven’t decided where to stay? Choose the most trusted and experienced expatriate property agent, Adrienne Farrelly. You can contact her at 131 2281 0421 or email her at manager@shanghaiprops.com.

Once in China there’s absolutely no need to use the websites you used in your own country. Sites like expedia charge over TWICE the rate than it’s Chinese counterpart charges so it’s really a no brainer to go local. One challenge of course is the language and if your Chinese isn’t up to scratch you probably feel a bit disadvantaged. There is no need to worry however cause I am more than happy to help guide you through China’s cheapest website using zilch Chinese language skills. Ctrip is probably the best choice if you don’t want to go through the hassle of looking through a Chinese website. Sure they have an English site but it often has errors. Ctrip’s Chinese version offers direct flights between Shanghai and Beijing while the English version has none!! UGH!! If you are looking to leave your Shanghai Apartment, follow this guide and find a cheap flight to another city.

Chinese Choices

If you ask any Chinese person where they buy their inland flight tickets, the majority will say qunar.com. This site is not the easiest to maneuver if you cannot read Chinese but it sure holds the greatest rewards! The site not only has the lowest inland deals, but often has extremely cheap international tickets. The site often displays round trip tickets to Hong Kong for only $100 USD after taxes from Shanghai. This site often has flash deals; I once saw a round ticket to Cambodia from Shanghai for only $170 USD. The catch was the plane ticket was for the next day. This site is perfect for anyone wanting to go on a spontaneous trip.

How to use Qunar.com
1.When you first arrive to the website, the top menu looks like the below options. You will choose the tab which I have highlighted

2.Unless you view this blog right after I post it, only then you will see the same deals that are shown below. This page has a list of international roundtrip tickets, one way international flights and inland one way flights. The prices listed below do not include tax or additional surcharges.. This site does not add the surcharges until you have selected a flight. On inland flights there is a 170 RMB surcharge for fuel, and airport fee regardless of distance. Most Airlines also offer a 20RMB insurance that you can opt to buy. International flights on the other hand have taxes. A round trip ticket to Hong Kong you will be looking at spending around 400 RMB in taxes. Which is sometimes more expensive than the flight itself. You may be wondering what the special price button does. On the website this function is not user friendly. I would recommend downloading their app for Android and Iphone. I will discuss the app later on.

3.If you already have in mind the city you would like to go to. You can type in the search boxes, don’t worry if you don’t have know the city’s Chinese name, the box’s recognize English; such as Hong Kong, Harbin, Seoul, Siem Reap and Macau which greatly differ than their Chinese pinyin. I am not sure why are the top they have an inland, and international flight search box. International flights can still be searched in the left box. In my case I have searched a one way flight from Shanghai to Tokyo. I choose an international flight to greater emphasize the saving that you can receive if you are flexible with the time of vacation. The below picture shows plane tickets to Tokyo for 1100+ 600 taxes. On the right hand side it shows round trip tickets than can be purchased that will save you over 800 RMB. The round trip price is 1400+Tax. However I still find this a bit too expensive let’s look at the option that I have highlighted.

4.After clicking on the last sections highlighted option. It brings up a calendar. On this calendar it shows the cost of the cheapest ticket on that day. You are able to scroll through and check by month. Usually plane tickets are cheapest between 8 and 12 weeks of the current date. As you see below if I choose to leave in March instead, the price of a ticket drastically lowers from 1100 to 399. The tax is usually relatively constant. There is always a different tax on tickets leaving China and coming into China, since the countries have different tax rates.

5.In the picture below I have highlighted an option which allows you to change which ticket you are searching for. If I clicked the option I will then be searching tickets from Japan to Shanghai. This is important if there are no cheap round trip suggestions. Round trip suggestions usually come up if it’s the same airline that offers a cheap going and return ticket; this may not always be the case. Then you can use the calendar option to find the cheapest going and returning tickets. However in my case an option came up to choose an 800 RMB round trip ticket. As shown in the bottom right hand corner.

6.I have clicked on the bottom right hand corner 798RMB round trip ticket. The next screen below is given. As you can see with tax the ticket comes up to 1879 RMB, which comes up to a little over 300 USD for a round trip ticket to Tokyo.

7.After than menu I have clicked on the orange button next to the 798. The ones below are for one way tickets if you choose to buy them separately. You will notice that the price has shot up to over 2000. This is because it includes an optional 150 RMB insurance. You can remove the insurance or keep it. The insurance includes such things as lost luggage reimbursement, if you get injured you will receive money, and for every 8 hours your luggage is delayed you will receive 500 RMB, and a few other things. This is the information that you need to put in. After this page, you will need to pay, by using a Chinese bank account. Make sure under the Identification scroll down, you choose 护照or passport.

Air Asia

This site has an English Version, so it is easy to use. If you are looking for cheap plane tickets to Southeast Asia, this is the site for you. They offer the cheapest flights to Malaysia. I have seen roundtrip tickets from Shanghai to Malaysia for Only 1600 RMB tax included. They often have promotions on the front page of the website, for flights between certain times. These promotions can be a bit deceiving since you rarely find prices at that price. However the site still boasts some of the cheapest flights to Southeast Asia and once you are in Southeast Asia, flying city to city is dirt cheap. This site does not offer many inland China flights, but if you are looking for an out of the country excursion this is a great option

Apps

Earlier I mentioned the usage of apps to find flights. Luckily there is a qunar app, and an airasia app. The qunar app is perfect if you already have a desired city that you would like to travel to. The app will then give you the cheapest prices in the next 3 months. Then you can go to their website and purchase the ticket. The air Asia promotion app has a feature to check best prices. You input the city that you are traveling from and the city that you would like to go to. This application is in English but has some flaws. The biggest flaw is that after you select the city which you are traveling from it does not filter out cities which do not have a connecting flight with that city. I would recommend using airasia website search option in congruence with this app to find the best price. The app lists the cost of the flight to that city and from that city for a whole month; you can scroll through future months. There is no 3 month limit like qunar’s app. The second problem with the app is that you must hit a refresh button on the top left to refresh prices to this day and time, if you do not refresh this before searching it may show outdated prices.

Adrienne Farrelly is one of Shanghai’s most experienced expatriate Property Agents helping expats find new homes since 1994. You can reach her at +86 13122 810 421 or manager@shanghaiprops.com. Connect with her on Skype at shanghaiproperties8. Shanghai Properties